Black homeless man arrested after Asian woman beaten to death with sledgehammer while walking dog on LA college campus

On Christmas Eve, 65-year-old Junko Hanafusa was killed on the campus of El Camino College in Torrance, California, while walking her dog and collecting recyclables. 

According to the Daily Mail, a 40-year-old homeless man, Jeffery Davis, allegedly brutally assaulted Hanafusa with a sledgehammer before fleeing the scene. A booking record shows his race and age.

The assault on the campus was reported as occurring near the school's gymnasium, where police found both Hanafusa her and her dog when they arrived. Hanafusa was taken to the local hospital where she succumbed to her injuries on Christmas day. 

After reviewing the surveillance footage investigators identified Davis as the suspect. Sgt. Francisco Esqueda of El Camino College Police said, "The person that we had an idea of who was on the security footage is, we believe, a homeless person we've had contact with before," 

"So we were able to go to the neighboring county park where he sometimes hangs out and that’s where we found him," he added. 

Hanafusa worked as an employee of the Goldrich Kest real estate company where she was awarded with a proclamation from the California Housing Finance Agency for 60 years of service in 2017. 

Residents of the neighborhood told KTLA that she was known to walk her dog in the area. One neighbor, Leslie Andersen, said, "It’s gut-wrenching. I’m still in shock." She added, "Our dogs became friends so they would play together and we would talk. Just the sweetest woman.”

Others expressed fear after the incident. "It’s scary seeing that a lot of people do come around this area where there are families,” one resident told the outlet. "You might think they’re just homeless people but you don’t know their psychological or mental health so it’s a very scary thing.”

The Mail noted that one neighbor vowed to adopt Hanafua's dog in a post on the community bulletin board site Next Door. 

Records reveal that Davis has been arrested nine additional times for misdemeanors and felonies with the most recent being Nov. 29. He is currently being held in the North County Correctional Facility without bail, with a court date scheduled for January 17, 2024. 

Police have asked anyone with more information on the attack to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, as the case remains under investigation.